Power
World premiere: the very first Praga Bohema
He used to drive a Twingo. A whole series of cars later, five McLarens, a Koenigsegg CCX and the very first Praga Bohema are on display in a transparent garage behind his villa in Ommeren, Gelderland, where he lives with childhood sweetheart Ineke and their two daughters Mandy and Melissa. Self-made entrepreneur Herman van de Pavert on his passion for fast cars.
You made your fortune in plumbing. How did you get into it?
“I was at the market with the textile company that I had taken over from my father. However, in the dark months the earnings were lower. At that time, my wife Ineke and I were building a house in Maurik. Next to that house was a bargain hall, where, among other things, bathroom furniture was offered. That was good, because that was what I was looking for for our new house. The trader told me that he hardly sold anything, because his products were much too expensive for that location. I saw an opportunity in it and bought up his stock: forty bathroom furniture, real whoppers. On Thursday we placed an advertisement in the local newspaper. That same evening we already received the first phone calls: 'Can we come over?' In that bargain hall we had installed some furniture on a 150 square meter piece of land – tablecloths on the ceiling, stencils on the wall. It went so well that we took over even more stuff from that man. That's how we got into plumbing. And I didn't know a thing about it, you know. In the evening we were leafing through a thick book about plumbing. How does it actually work? What's for sale?"
How did you grow further?
“Back then, the bathroom consisted of little more than a separate washbasin with a mirror above it. We have reaped the benefits of the rise of the bathroom as a real living space, stylish and trend-sensitive. I have always tried to get as close to the source as possible and to remove the middlemen. That has partly determined our success. And we are not only close to the source, we also do our own production. In 2008, I bought the entire hall. That was admittedly at the most expensive time, but the land of the neighbour is only for sale once. At the same time, I started a wholesale business in sanitary ware, just to see how that went. Well, that went very well! In the meantime, both the wholesale business and the sanitary ware business have expanded considerably. Ineke and both our daughters are now also in the company, which is called Brauer. Our unique selling point is that we supply everything for the bathroom, except tiles, and can therefore supply all materials in the same colour. We are truly unique in that.”
Besides a complete bargain hall, you also bought this villa in Ommeren. Tell us.
“In the past, Ineke and I used to go to the pub nearby and to the De Roskam dance hall every weekend. We had a group of about eight friends, and we would get a beer and one bacootje: for Ineke. And drink at the same pace, you know. We were friends for years, until love blossomed. We had often driven past here. If only we could live there, we said to each other. In 2008, our dream house went up for sale, but the price was too high for us – and we had just invested in the hall. A few years later, it was still for sale, but in the meantime the price had dropped by six or seven hundred thousand. We went to have a look. A lot needed to be done. And because the residents had already moved out, it had not been maintained in recent years: the grass was up to your knees and the tennis court was overgrown with moss. The whole place needed to be renovated. But I am close to the fire with the trade: tiles, taps, bathroom, kitchen… Plus: the fitters had at that time, in the middle of the crisis, nothing to do. They were only too eager to get to work. I made an offer and it was settled almost immediately.”
The house has a large driveway. Handy, since you are an avid car enthusiast. How did that passion come about?
“I had that passion from a young age, there was a poster of a Ferrari hanging above my bed in my childhood bedroom. However, it was never my goal to collect cars. My goal has always been to just have fun doing business. The fact that I am successful with what I enjoy is of course great. The fact that money is coming in is a nice side effect. But we started with nothing. We drove a Twingo for six years, because all our money was in the business. When I exchanged it for an Opel Frontera, Ineke was really upset. Because you could store the groceries and crates of beer so nicely in that Twingo. When there was some financial room, we bought a Maserati 4200 GT. After that, it was hurry up. We enjoy it so much! We want to share that enjoyment with others: we regularly drive for charities. For example, I drove a terminal patient in a McLaren Senna on the Assen circuit for Stichting WensAmbulance. I asked him: how fast do you want to go? 'As fast as you can.' Well, off we went. The guy was paralyzed, couldn’t move his arms. But when we passed his family on the straight, he gave them both thumbs up. How? Probably adrenaline. On the same circuit, I’ve driven kids who are struggling with cancer all day long. So nice to see a smile on their faces!”
Which models have you ridden?
“When we could afford it, we first bought a Mercedes-Benz CLS 55 AMG, of which only 55 were made. Then came a Maserati GranTurismo, Porsche Cayenne, Tesla, Koenigsegg CCX and of course my dream car: a Ferrari! A very nice version in white, with lots of carbon. I had a lot of fun with that. But I changed my mind during a test drive in a McLaren 650S on the Zandvoort circuit. The acceleration! I was completely pressed into my seat. I had to have that. It was also equipped with adjustable seats - you can sit so comfortably in them! Melissa and Mandy thought so too: they loved driving it. Two daughters and a McLaren was one car not enough. That's why we bought another white 650S. We put a sticker on both cars with 'McLaren Twins'. Funny, right? That's also the name of their Instagram account. For myself, I bought a McLaren 600LT, in the color Cirrus Gray with orange striping on the top of the car. The number of McLarens has now increased to five. We still have one white 650S, two 600LTs, a Senna street version and a Senna GTR. Of the latter, only seventy-five were made, of which this is one of fourteen street-legal versions. I had a transparent garage built behind our house especially for my cars. I can see it when I sit on the terrace, from the conservatory, the living room... So I can always enjoy it!”
Since mid-February, the McLarens have had to share the garage with the very first Praga Bohema. Tell us.
“I didn’t know Praga at all. But it turns out to be one of the oldest brands in the world, 117 years old. The head office is in Prague, the factory is a two-hour drive away. Three years ago I saw the Praga Bohema on Instagram. I thought: wow! It looks a bit like the Aston Martin Valkyrie, but even more beautiful, especially the nose. I took the plunge and sent an email. I got a message back pretty quickly, from sales manager Mark Harrison. He used to work at McLaren and helped develop the P1, among other things. He invited me to come to Frankfurt and drive a prototype through the city with a racing driver. That was great. It doesn’t have a lift system, but it easily takes speed bumps, you can drive through 30 km zones. Then I was invited to come to Spa and drive it on the circuit there, together with Ben Collins, also known as The Stig: the anonymous test driver in the Top Gear program. I got a racing suit on and off we went. After four laps I got thrown out… The power! Collins himself was surprised: for the first time in a street-legal car he experienced 2G. I was not used to that much G-force. Man, how that Bohema goes through the corner! It weighs 978 kilos and has a downforce of 900 kilos. So in theory you could almost drive it upside down in a tunnel. And the brakes on it are those of a 2.500 kilo Bentley. You touch the brake and it stops, as if you are throwing out an anchor. What a car! I was convinced. Including bpm and VAT, the Bohema was going to cost me about 1,7 million. I did insist on getting the very first in the world. It took a year and a half to build, it was completely assembled by hand. It has a full carbon fiber body and monocoque, and an aerodynamic package that was tested in a Formula 1 wind tunnel. The unveiling took place last December 6 in the presence of former F1 driver Romain Grosjean, who contributed to the development and tested the car extensively. What makes the Bohema so special is that you can drive the car to the circuit, race there and then drive it home. So it is street legal and just as fast as a thoroughbred GT3 race car. The secret lies in the drivetrain and aerodynamics. It borrows its engine from the Nissan GT: the famous 3.8 liter V6 with two turbos, good for 700 hp and 725 Nm of torque and a top speed of 317 km/h. Production is limited to a maximum of twenty cars per year. I don't have to go all the way to the Czech Republic for service: Next Level Cars, which was also at MASTERS EXPO, has become the Benelux importer of Praga. Only a twenty-minute drive from my house - very convenient!”
Officially, you are not allowed to drive it on the street yet. What are you going to do when it is registered?
“We have already planned a lot of track days! We are going to Ghent, Spa, the Red Bull Ring, the Nürburgring… We are really looking forward to that. But we are also going on nice tours. On a nice day, Ineke and I like to drive to Scheveningen. Then we park on the boulevard and sit on a bench with a bowl of cod or an eel sandwich, enjoying the view of the sea and our car. We also regularly go out with three cars in a row. That is so special. When I drive in front and see my daughters following me in a McLaren in my rear-view mirror… It doesn't get any better than that! Then to think that I drove a Twingo about twenty years ago. That is really cool!”
